News

A new book by Christ Church theologian Andrew Davison and Cambridge engineer Julian Allwood challenges dominant assumptions about how the climate crisis will be solved – and who is responsible for solving it.

Christ Church undergraduate Evie Duckworth has been awarded third prize in the Oxford–Intesa Sanpaolo Prize for Economics and Management, which recognises outstanding student writing on contemporary business challenges.

Groundbreaking findings from an interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Dr Tapabrata Rohan Chakraborty, Lecturer in Computer Science at Christ Church, have been published in the leading journal Nature Communications. The study demonstrates how artificial intelligence can improve the accuracy and usefulness of cancer predictions by generating synthetic molecular data from routine pathology images.

The King’s New Year Honours list for 2026 has been released, recognising and celebrating the extraordinary achievements and service of individuals across the UK. We are delighted to announce that four members of the Christ Church community have been honoured this year. 

Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas has conferred on Christ Church’s Emeritus Professor John Cartwright the title of Docteur Honoris Causa at a ceremony on 1 December 2025.

Dr Yu Mo, Houser Career Development Fellow at Christ Church and Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute (ECI), has led a new international study revealing how changes in tropical cyclone behaviour are reshaping risks to mangrove ecosystems worldwide. The research has been published in the leading journal Science Advances.

Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, Senior Associate Research Fellow at Christ Church and Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford’s Pandemic Sciences Institute, has played a central role in the launch of the world’s first Phase II clinical trial of a vaccine against the deadly Nipah virus. Professor Gilbert was recently elected Honorary Student (fellow) of Christ Church, recognising her remarkable contributions to global public health.

Christ Church is delighted to announce that it has received an extraordinary and historic gift: Lewis Carroll’s personal copy of the 1865 suppressed first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The donation – reported today in The Times – brings to Oxford what has been described as the most significant surviving copy of the world-famous story.

Christ Church is proud to be a Higher Education Partner of IntoUniversity, a national charity dedicated to widening participation and transforming educational opportunities for young people facing disadvantage. This year has seen the charity – working closely with its partners – continue to make a profound difference both locally and nationally.

The UK Knowledge Exchange Hub for Mathematical Sciences (KE Hub), led by Christ Church’s Professor Chris Breward as Scientific Director, has been named ‘Knowledge Exchange (KE) Team of the Year 2025’ at this year’s prestigious national KE Awards, held on Thursday 27 November at The Lowry, Salford.

An international collaboration involving Christ Church’s Professor Stephen Smartt has been recognised with an Into Change Award by the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science. The awards celebrate outstanding European research groups whose work drives scientific breakthroughs, benefits society, and reflects core values such as curiosity, collaboration and openness. 

Ancient Greek music took centre stage at the new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities on Saturday 22 November, when Christ Church DPhil candidate Maggie Tighe joined fellow Classics researchers to present The Call of Kinnaru, a concert reimagining the sound worlds of antiquity.

Christ Church is delighted to announce that this year’s W. H. Auden Prize has been shared between two outstanding student poets: Sarah Liu and Ruby McCallion.

The current exhibition in the Upper Library, “To love truth for truth’s sake”: John Locke and Christ Church, contains many fascinating items, but the star of the show is John Locke’s desk. Lindsay Judson, Emeritus Student and Professor of Ancient Philosophy, unlocks the story behind the escritoire of one of the Enlightenment’s most influential thinkers.

Giving Day 2025 is now underway, bringing together the entire Christ Church community in celebration of our 500th Anniversary year. Over the next day and a half, alumni, students, staff and friends will unite to reflect on what Christ Church means to them – and to give back in support of its future.

Christ Church alumnus Benedict Mee (2018, Classics), who recently completed his MSt in Greek and Roman History at the College, has been awarded the inaugural Hugh Toller Prize by Itinera, a national, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the study of Roman roads and their wider significance in Roman history. The annual prize recognises outstanding postgraduate work, and the winner is invited to submit their research for publication in the journal.

Royal Mail has unveiled its Christmas 2025 stamps, featuring beautifully crafted Nativity scenes prepared in consultation with Christ Church’s Professor Andrew Davison, Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford.

Last night Christ Church hosted Lens of Light: An Evening of South Asian Poetry – a vibrant celebration of South Asian voices, languages and traditions.

It has been an incredible start to the academic year at Christ Church, with Week 2 of Michaelmas term bringing victories across every sport. All six teams that competed over the weekend came away triumphant, marking a stellar beginning to the season.

On 15 October, Christ Church was honoured to welcome Her Excellency Hélène Tréheux-Duchêne, French Ambassador to the United Kingdom, together with members of her team, during their “away day” in Oxford.

Christ Church is delighted to congratulate undergraduate Rufus Edwards on being named the Pendine Young Musician of Wales 2025 at the North Wales International Music Festival.

Christ Church is delighted to announce the launch of the 2026 Christopher Tower Poetry Competition, which offers the UK’s most valuable prize for young poets. The competition is free to enter and open to students between 16 and 18 years of age who are educated in the UK. This year, participants are challenged to write a poem on the theme of ‘A Riddle’.

It is with sadness that we report the death of Professor Sir John Bertrand Gurdon, Nobel Laureate and Honorary Student of Christ Church, at the age of 92.

After nearly five years of intensive collaboration, a major international research project investigating how to improve the quality of care for sick newborns in Kenyan hospitals has reached its conclusion.

The Christ Church community is saddened to report the death of William Thomas, Tutor in History at the House from 1967 until his retirement in 2003. Obituary by his colleague and friend, Professor Brian Young.

Richard Stengel – former Under Secretary of State in the Obama administration and former Managing Editor of TIME – delivered a stark warning about the global decline of democracy at Christ Church’s final 500th Anniversary Lecture in New York last week.